Adventurers on South Pole mission
Iqaluit's McNairs guide Dutch actress to pole, get stuck in Antarctica for Christmas
Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 22, 2014
SOUTH POLE
Despite their best intentions, Matty McNair and her daughter Sarah McNair-Landry won't spend Christmas at home in Iqaluit. They're stuck in Antarctica after a successful mission to drive a tractor to the South Pole faced mechanical setbacks.
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Explorer Matty McNair of Iqaluit is the expedition lead guide, and her daughter Sarah is a guide and audio-visual support crewmember for Antarctica2, a quest to reach the South Pole on a tractor. They reached the pole December 9. - photo courtesy of Simon Foster |
"We are just under 1,000 km from the finish," McNair said Dec. 17, speaking by satellite phone from 78 degrees south. "The other day, we had a fan belt break, and it was impossible under the conditions to replace it. We've had other times where the trailer hitches fell apart. Constant repairs have to happen, and you never know how that's going to hold you up."
The team was hoping to reach the airstrip to leave the continent on Dec. 20.
"We're a long way away, and what happens here is in the peak of summer the runway melts out, so no planes can come in and out. We won't be able to get out until into January."
The team can make it through since it has plenty of freeze-dried food.
"We're all getting sick of it," she laughed, noting hot chocolate, cheese and nuts are also available.
The expedition was dubbed Antarctica2 to recognize this was the second time a tractor was used to drive to the pole – the first was driven by Sir Edmund Hilary, the same man who conquered Mount Everest, when he made the first mechanized journey to the South Pole in 1958.
The 2014 team required 17 days to travel 2,500 km, arriving at the pole on Dec. 9.
"Wow! I've made it!" said expedition lead driver Manon Ossevoort, nicknamed Tractor Girl. The 38-year-old actress and theatre maker had driven a tractor 38,000 km across Europe and Africa en route to her goal of reaching the pole.
The accomplishment came seven years after Ossevoort contacted McNair to discuss the possibility of the McNairs supporting the trip.
"She came up to Iqaluit about three years ago and did polar training with NorthWinds, and for a long time was unable to find a sponsor," McNair said, explaining the sponsorship came through two years ago. Like Hilary, Ossevoort drove a Massey Ferguson tractor. The McNairs and other team members drove Arctic-ready trucks to mark the path and build camps ahead of the tractor.
"I wanted to support Manon in reaching her goal and I was looking forward to working with my daughter on this. It was a chance to try another form of transportation."
Going into Antarctica from Cape Town instead of South America was a new experience for the McNairs, who have skied and kite-skied to the pole.
"Driving is much different," she said. "It's a much longer route."
"We travelled to this area called Queen Maud Land," Sarah McNair-Landry said. "It was this spectacular series of mountains with sheer cliff faces that come right out of the ice. It was fun to travel through there and see it."
Taking advantage of 24-hour daylight, the team scheduled 30-hour "days" to allow for hard pushes consisting of 23 hours of driving before routine maintenance and driver changeovers. The tractor engine has been running almost non-stop since setting out Nov. 22.
The tractor and team are "battered and bruised" by the brutal conditions, a release stated. The tractor faced treacherous crevasses, steep climbs, solid ice waves, and deep soft snow. At one point a massive solar storm left the team without the ability to communicate to people in the rest of the world.
To keep her sanity on the arduous journey, McNair has spent time watching TED talks and listening to podcasts, as well as taking sponge baths.
"There's nothing to see," she said. "No communities, no people, no rocks, no lichen, nothing."
And now a cold virus is spreading in the camp, which includes Ossevoort, the McNairs, lead mechanic Nicolas Bachelet, creative director Simon Foster and expedition specialists from Arctic Trucks.
